This invention relates to a reinforced valve element.
Thermopress molding is an extremely desirable technique to use to form articles from thermoplastic composite materials since it enables the use of long fiber reinforcement. Long fiber reinforcement in composite articles generally provides highest performance. However, when the long fiber reinforcement is highly oriented, such as in the form of a woven mat, poor fiber flow during the molding operation of thermoplastic composite leaves fiber deficient areas which are prone to premature failure.
Better fiber distribution results when random fiber mat is the reinforcement in a thermoplastic composite. Random fibers enjoy higher mobility than highly oriented fibers and become well distributed throughout the molded articles. However, molded articles reinforced with random fiber reinforcement are prone to failure at high stress points because random fibers do not impart the highest performance properties. Techniques for selectively providing the high stress points of random fiber reinforced articles with additional reinforcement would be very desirable.